


Waste No Time

by nightfalltwen



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Aurors, F/M, Judging Knitted Reindeer, Ministry of Magic, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-01-09
Packaged: 2018-09-15 21:17:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9257696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nightfalltwen/pseuds/nightfalltwen
Summary: Harry plans to be the best Secret Santa ever, until he is entirely not.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [unbroken_halo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/unbroken_halo/gifts).



> Written as a gift for **Kinky Kristmas** and H/Hr has been my OTP for years. Special thank you to **cryptaknight** for looking it over.

So what if he cheated? 

It wasn't as if he'd meant to peek over Harkney's shoulder and see Hermione's name on the drawn Secret Santa paper. All right... so maybe he _had_ meant to look. And maybe he had meant to confound the man in the men's loo and switch slips. But it wasn't like _Harkney_ would mind. Or even know that he could have possibly minded. The man barely knew Hermione. She deserved a special gift. Not some random box of chocolates bought at the very last minute from the vendor in the Atrium like last Christmas. Or the Christmas before.

Not that Harry had disliked those chocolates last year. Or Harkney. But the man had no imagination.

So the slips were switched and Harry tucked Hermione's name into his pocket with a smile.

Weeks later, however, the smile was long gone. Harry had scoured every shop he came across and was quickly learning that perhaps he didn't know anything about Hermione either. He didn't think it was possible. They'd spent all those years as friends at Hogwarts and all that time marching about the country, fighting together, working together after it was all done. She was his best friend, along with Ron. She was more than that, he felt, and he truly wanted to show her. 

But how did he not know her as well as he'd thought he had?

At first he'd tried books, but he'd not known what sort of books Hermione was reading these days. Asking her coworkers in the Beast Division was out of the question because as soon as he started nosing about, something would have given him away. The whole damn point of this gift exchange was to be secretive. 

Asking Ron, who'd only been told out of desperation, got a "Dunno, mate. Something thick and hardbound? Never much paid attention to what she was reading before. Just that she was reading."

Perfume wasn't a good alternative either. Harry'd only lasted a few minutes in the shop before his nostril hairs had set themselves into a curl and he couldn't figure out the difference between notes of orange or notes of jasmine. Besides. They all smelt too artificial and there was something nice about Hermione. But not something he could place entirely.

Flowers would wilt. Gift cards were too lazy. She had the attention of too many charities to pick just one and ignore the rest. And no one gave clothes for these sort of gifts. Nor would he have ever thought himself capable of picking something beyond a plain white t-shirt.

Harry was at a loss.

Glancing over at Harkney's desk, he could see a flat, playfully wrapped, box of chocolates that were destined for Susan Bones, Harry started to regret switching slips. At least there would have been no expectations with Bones. She would like the chocolate that Harkney picked out. She would have liked them from Harry too. 

"I'm such an idiot," he snarled, mostly to himself, and kicked the leg of his desk. He dropped his head into his hands and cradled it.

"I can't imagine they would allow an idiot into the Auror department, Harry."

He looked up. Luna smiled wistfully at him and stared at a spot just over his shoulder for a long moment before she gave her head a shake. He said nothing about it. He'd given up asking her about the things she saw years ago (though it still made him want to reach up and brush his shoulder in case anything _was_ there).

"Ron's out on assignment right now," he said.

"Oh I know." Luna perched herself on the corner of Harry's desk. "He told me to come see you because you need help with a gift. And that it's okay that I talk to you because I don't work at the Ministry. So, as they say, your secret is safe with me."

Harry groaned and dropped his head back down to his hands.

"It can't be as bad as all that," Luna said soothingly.

"Except it is," Harry mumbled, face muffled by his palms.

"She'll love what you get her. Especially when she finds out it was you giving it."

Harry peeked from behind his fingers. Luna didn't seem to be paying much attention to his dilemma as she plucked a nubbin of fuzz from the front of her jumper. It was a garish thing in bright red, a large reindeer emblazoned across the front of it. The deer was charmed to move and presently it was grazing at her hip before it lifted its head and looked at him. 

He made a face at it. Damn judging, knitted reindeer.

"You could just tell her how you feel instead of making a big production of it."

His first reaction was denial. He opened his mouth to protest and the words were there right on the tip of his tongue. But Luna reached forward and placed her hand on his shoulder, giving him a knowing look. Harry knew then and there that it was useless to pretend otherwise. He puffed his cheeks and let out a breath.

"It's that obvious?"

Luna smiled reassuringly. "Only to everyone who knows you." She shrugged a shoulder and the reindeer on her jumper stamped its foot. "Except for maybe Hermione."

"Except for maybe Hermione, what?" A voice spoke from his office door and Harry almost disapparated in his panic.

Luna, however, didn't miss a beat and hopped from Harry's desk, spouting the lie so easily that Harry could only stare at her. "Oh. That wrackspurts infect everyone, is all. Harry is particularly susceptible, but you never have been. I still haven't quite figured out why." She looked at him and smiled. "Think about what I said."

Once she was gone, Harry's attention shifted to Hermione as she conjured a chair and took a seat opposite him. 

"I came to find out if you have plans for the holidays," she said, flicking the button at the waist of her blazer. The jacket parted revealing a white blouse beneath it. 

Normally Harry wouldn't concern himself with the details of anyone's clothing, but the blouse was _just_ sheer enough that he could make out the soft outline of her bra and it was distracting enough that he stopped paying attention. Images of peeling away the blouse and running his mouth along the edge of said bra started to boil around in his head. He could do it. He could tell her. Just like Luna said.

"Harry," Hermione snapped her fingers in front of his eyes, waving her hand slightly. "Don't make me start believing in Luna's wrackspurt nonsense."

He gave his head a shake and forced out a smile. "Sorry. I was trying to remember if I planned anything. What did you have in mind?"

"Well Viktor invited me to Bulgaria... I was hoping you might look after Crookshanks while I was gone."

The bottom fell out of Harry's stomach and he stared at her blankly before blurting out a confused, "Viktor?"

"Yes, Viktor. Viktor Krum. Tri-Wizard competitor. Quidditch star. Lives in Bulgaria. I've known him for years. That Viktor." Hermione spoke slowly at first, but picked up speed when it seemed like she felt that he'd caught up with the conversation. "I'd leave on the twelfth and come back on boxing day and it just seems terrible to put Crooky in a boarding house for a whole two weeks. I've never been to Bulgaria in the winter. Viktor says there's always snow at his house and...

"But you can't!" Harry protested suddenly.

"I'm sorry?" Hermione looked surprised.

Harry faltered. "The... The ministry employee party. It's on the twentieth. And someone has your name... "

She waved a hand and stood, the conjured chair vanishing. "Oh that. Padma has my gift to distribute and I was hoping you'd just collect whatever trinket someone got me. It's all right if you don't want to watch Crookshanks; I'll ask Michael and Terry if they don't mind."

Harry didn't quite understand what was happening. He didn't want her to leave and spend the entire holiday in Bulgaria. She couldn't do that. She was part of his family and he wanted to be with his family during Christmas. He wanted to be with her during Christmas. He wanted her to be happy with the trinket he'd gotten her and surprised that he was her secret Santa. He didn't have anything against Viktor Krum, but he certainly didn't want to share his friend, his _family_ , over the holidays with the man.

"No."

She blinked in surprise. "No?"

"No. I mean of course I'd look after Crookshanks if you had to go away, but you can't go away over Christmas." He held up his hand to keep her from interrupting. "It isn't even just the secret Santa, though I did go through a hell of a lot of risk getting your name away from Harkney and I know you're not supposed to know who your Santa is... but I can't just sit here and watch you just leave and even though I still haven't figured out what to get you and maybe I should just go with what Luna says and tell you how I feel because the last thing I want is for you to leave..."

"Harry... Harry stop." Hermione had crossed the room and grabbed hold of his forearms.

He felt the heat creep up his neck and he stared off at a spot just over her shoulder.

Hermione reached up and nudged his chin to force him to meet her gaze. She smiled. "I was wondering how long that would take you."

It felt like he'd missed a train and was running down the platform after it trying to catch up. There was no point in clarifying that she'd known. Obviously she'd known. How she'd known, he wasn't quite sure. Perhaps Luna had been wrong and Hermione had not been as oblivious as had been assumed. Fuck it. He didn't care at this point. She knew. She didn't seem to be hating on him for not speaking up sooner.

"So... Krum didn't invite you to Bulgaria?"

"Oh no, he did. And I was going to go if you didn't pull your head out of your arse. I swear. Sometimes you are worse than Ron. Granted, he didn't confound a man in the loo in order to steal a secret Santa assignment. You're lucky Harkney actually fancies Susan or he probably would have reported you."

" _He_ knew too?"

"You can't have thought a seasoned Auror would be that easy to confound, did you?"

"Yeah, I kind of did..." He paused for a moment and then looked at her. "Wait does that mean you knew how much I was struggling trying to find you something?"

A cheeky look appeared on her face. "Well maybe I wanted you to suffer a bit since you wouldn't just come and talk to me in the first place. And I think the other Aurors were taking bets."

Harry covered his face with a hand and groaned, unsure how he would ever be able to face the rest of the department after this.

"Shall we leave then?" Hermione asked. "I don't see the point in going through motions..."

"Motions..." Harry stared at her.

"Oh honestly, Harry. Do I really have to spell it out for you? Sex. You and me. No dating — we don't need all of that. I've been waiting for forever for you to make up your mind." Her handbag sailed into the office from a quick summoning charm and she held out her hand to him. "Sometimes you are a bit thick."

Harry stood there for a moment, first staring at her hand and then at her face. He dropped his own hand to pinch the flesh of his thigh as hard as he could. The twinge of pain convinced him that he hadn't fallen asleep at his desk and this wasn't some strange dream. He mentally went back over his meals in the past few days to make sure there hadn't been anything "wheeze-like" that had been slipped in. Nothing out of the ordinary came to mind.

"Shouldn't we at least have a nice dinner first?" he asked the moment they appeared in her flat.

Hermione slipped her arms around his neck and pressed her mouth against his, answering his question with a kiss. Harry thought he ought to protest. That it didn't seem right that they launch into a physical relationship so quickly. But her teeth grazing his lip and her tongue flicking into his mouth made it really difficult to try and stick to any sort of gentlemanly thoughts.

"We've had nice dinners before," she said, tugging the tail of his shirt out of his trousers. "We've gone to the cinema. We've had coffee..." She smiled and ran her fingers down the front of his shirt undoing buttons.

"You're sure..?"

She didn't let him finish his question, nor did she answer it. Instead she kissed him again and as her mouth slid across his, Harry was starting to realize that he liked her being in charge. Hermione knew exactly what she wanted and when she wanted it. He might have been some sort of "chosen one", but it was clear that he'd never been in charge. Not really.

And with that realization, Harry let go of any doubt, kissing her back with a fervour that matched hers.

He kissed her as if he'd always known how to kiss her, his hands making short work of her clothing just as hers made short work of his. Hands roamed over bare skin, both his and hers, as the last bit of clothing found its way to the floor. Sucking in a breath, Harry looked down at her. One would think that after all that time alone in a tent in the woods he might have caught a glimpse of her, but it had never been the case and he was almost overwhelmed by what he was now seeing.

She was everything and nothing that he had imagined.

"Now," she whispered, kissing a trail down the middle of his chest. "We can aim for the bed later."

Harry nodded, momentarily without words and felt his knees start to buckle. In a perfect world he would have guided her to the sofa. He would have nudged her back and kissed her collar bones and her breasts and down over her stomach, pushing her legs apart and kissing her everywhere. But they didn't make it that far. Instead he dropped down onto the scattered clothing, Hermione straddling his hips, and in one swift movement, he was inside of her.

"Fuck..." he hissed, his hands first gripping her thighs before sliding around to cup her arse.

Hermione looked down at him, her hair hanging almost wild around her shoulders and face. She rolled her hips and bit her lip, a humming groan catching in the back of her throat. She sat up more, her movements almost a cross between a bounce and a slow rise and fall. Harry watched in wonder at the changing expressions on her face. His one hand let go of her arse and moved between their joined bodies. He found her clit easily and began circling it with his thumb, watching as the surprise flickered across her face.

"When did it start?" she asked, cupping her own breast and tugging at a pebbled nipple.

"We-we're talking too?" he gasped, planting his feet against the floor and pushing his hips up against hers.

Hermione smiled, almost wickedly, at him. "I'm _very_ good at multitasking. When did it start for you? When did you know that it had to be me?" She moaned softly as his thumb pressed harder against her clit.

"I just..." Harry pinched his eyes shut briefly. "It just had to be you. For months. I didn't want you with anyone... but me."

"Good."

"Good?"

She leaned back, bracing her hands against his thighs. "It doesn't feel one sided now. Not if it's been months..."

Her eyes closed and she lifted herself up slightly. Harry rolled his hips, thrusting harder and with a bit more leverage than he'd had before. His thumb moved faster against her clit and the conversation was effectively put on pause. When she came, her whole body shook, pulsing around his cock. Harry rocked up against her and almost growled when he followed suit, his orgasm feeling as if every muscle in his body was spasming inside of her.

Hermione collapsed against him, sucking in panting breaths. Harry dragged his fingers up and down her sweaty spine as he tried to gain control of his own breathing and calm his heart. Hermione folded her hands across his chest and rested her chin against her fingers, a wide smile spreading across her face. Harry couldn't stop himself from mirroring it.

"Were you really stuck on what to give me as a secret Santa?" she asked, unfolding her hands and reaching up to pluck his glasses off his face. She slid them onto her nose and peered at him over the rims.

" _Painfully_ so..." Harry chuckled. "Nothing seemed right."

"You do know I'd never say no to chocolates. The truffles from the vendor in the Atrium are a particular weakness of mine."

Harry lifted himself up a bit and braced himself against an elbow. "I guess you'll just have to act surprised."

"Until then we can go upstairs and you can surprise me with something else."

Harry had absolutely no problem with that suggestion in the slightest.


End file.
